Ruthless Roulette
by slashersanonymous
Summary: When Peeta joins Cato in the Hunger Games, things get a little bit dicey. True love is questionable, Gamemakers are very impatient, and no one knows who will die next in this Russian Roulette style Games. May the odds be ever in your favor! M/M, Sex may be in future chapters! Don't like, don't read. Please rate and review!
1. Footsteps

_**A/N: Sorry this isn't the best... I wrote this chapter at around 1:30 AM a few days ago. I'm now writing chapter two, and it's 10:36pm, so bear with me... XD **_

I. Footsteps

I heard the echoes from deep within the forest, the cries of fear obvious in the mellow day.

Footsteps. I could hear them coming closer. I could hear the snap of pine needles and twigs under the boots of a tribute, preceded by screaming.

"Rue! Rue! I'm coming!"

The voice sounded familiar. It was obviously my former district partner. Why former? I left her for Cato, of course. I heard Katniss bounding through the trees, running towards the Cornucopia. I knew this would not end pretty. Cato had left heading towards the Cornucopia only around a mere half hour ago.  
I heard the soft comforting words of Katniss speaking to Rue, the distant sound of ropes breaking. I heard a small thunk of a body hitting the ground, and I knew Katniss had freed her. I then heard the bloodcurdling scream of excruciating pain, and it suddenly was hushed. I then heard nothing more of the two allies, but I did hear Cato yelling for me. I never said he was the sharpest crayon in the box.  
"Hey, Peeta! I killed the District Eleven chick!" he shouted.

He knew Katniss wouldn't go after him in her current depressed state. His instincts were correct, and he was able to begin walking back our base camp safely.

We stayed high on the hill, far from the Cornucopia. I tried to avoid other tributes as much as possible. Cato? Not as much. He enjoyed going on excursions to still show he was alive to the other Careers, but even though he was feared rather than being someone's prey, I worried for him. Every single time he went away from the crest of the hill, I'd get a sick feeling in my stomach. I knew that I had feelings for Cato, but I could tell that he didn't like me… at all. I was just another pawn in these horrific Games, and he was going to kill me off as soon as he had the chance.

I heard more footsteps, and a voice greeted me. "Good afternoon, Peeta," it said, "fancy seeing you here…"


	2. Really?

_**A/N: I finally got around to updating it! I hope you like this chapter... It's a bit melodramatic, but isn't that how Peeta always was in the books? ;) **_

"Dammit Cato!" I shouted, jumping as I did so, "You know how on edge everyone is, right?! I thought you were Katniss, Thresh, maybe even Clove…"

Cato laughed at my nervousness, my knees a bit wobbly. "You're so cute when you're frightened." He remarked, winking at me with those rich brown eyes. My heart sank at the thought of his sarcastic tone. I scolded myself for actually thinking I had a chance with… well, with _him. _

I laughed slightly. "Really?" I asked, knowing the answer was no. He confirmed by shaking his head.

"Really?" he said in a mocking tone. Cato laughed heartily, "Oh Peeta, you _really _think I'd like _you? _Really…"

I just sat in silence, my heart crushed. I just started walking away, half hoping he wouldn't follow me, and half hoping he would. I didn't hear footsteps behind me, so I assumed he was staying put at the crest. I honestly didn't even care that I could be walking into a complete death trap. I just was praying that it would all be over soon enough.

"Peeta," Cato whispered into my ear, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine "wait. Please." I resisted the urge to stop and turn around to acknowledge him with a little more than a slight "get the hell out of my sight you heartbreaking bastard" look, and I kept walking, ignoring the fact he was even behind me.

"Peeta," He persisted, "you can't ignore me forever." This time I did stop. I turned around viciously, snarling at him.

"CAN'T IGNORE YOU FOREVER? HUH? SO YOU SAY YOU DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH ME, AND THEN YOU TURN AROUND AND BEGIN FOLLOWING ME AROUND? AND YOU STILL DEFEND YOURSELF SAYING YOU DON'T FUCKING LIKE ME? IS THAT IT? HUH?" I let it all out, angry as hell, tears threatening to flow over my lower eyelids. I contained the salty water by blinking furiously. Cato stood in front of me, speechless. He looked down, obviously too far to be looking into my eyes. His gaze then traveled upward, meeting my own. He probably noticed my cheeks were slightly damp.

"Let me take care of that…" He said, his voice drifting off, his hand outstretched. He wiped away my tears and held me close in a tight embrace. Internally, I hoped he would never let go of me. Although it was so wrong, it felt so… right.


	3. Boom

**III: Boom**

* * *

By the time it was sunset, Cato had coaxed me into coming back to our camp on top of the hill. We were sitting next to each other, gazing at the pink and orange sky. Every now and then, I'd see Cato glance downward towards the lake where the other Careers were staying. _Just when I thought I had him all to myself… _I thought, sighing softly.

"What's wrong?" Cato said, interrupting my thoughts. "Peeta?"

I snapped to attention, looking into his eyes… Those deep chocolate eyes… _Snap out of it, Peeta! _I thought to myself.

"Oh, nothing's wrong, I'm just… tired, that's all." I said, covering up my fantasies about Cato.

"You sure you don't want me to take first watch?" He asked, looking a bit concerned, but the bags under his eyes were obvious.

"No, no, it's fine." I said, reassuring him. After a long time of just staring at each other, we both looked out at the dwindling sunset. I just happened to look down near the lake, where I saw Clove sharpening her giant set of throwing knifes. A tad frightened, I quickly looked back to the sunset, which was almost nonexistent.

I heard the familiar procession of the Capitol's theme, and the faces of tributes light the night sky. I saw the face of the District Eleven girl who had been killed earlier, and a few other faces I didn't recognize.

_Boom. _

The deep rumble of the cannon signified that yet another tribute had died conveniently during the anthem. The last of the mystery faces disappeared. I was kind of expecting the face of the newly dead tribute to appear, but there was no such luck.

_I guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow… _I thought.

I heard an ear-piercing scream. I used my hands to cover my ears, but the familiar anthem played and one more face appeared. The face was of a blonde haired girl, and just as suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared.

I brushed off the craziness and began to watch for intruders while Cato next to me. My thoughts moved over to what had just happened. _Was this a coincidence, or-_

_Boom._

_Boom. _

_Boom. _

* * *

_**A/N: **_**Did you like it? I finally got around to updating this! I've been busy... I wrote most of this "Chapter" when I finished chapter two, but I never got around to finishing it until today! I am practically only writing this fic for my friend Serena and for two FF users under the names of kataragurl27 and SakuraDrops141. :3  
If you liked it, review! :D**_  
_


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